Posts in Industrial Design

This is for all the 3D artists out there. It’s hard to tell from some of the photos, but what you’re seeing is a real model and not a computer generated wireframe. Benedict Radcliffe crafted this model of Lamborghini’s iconic Countach supercar from steel tubing. It’s incredibly detailed, right down to the Pirelli text on the tires. I can’t imagine the time that went into this, it would probably take me a year just to make this in Maya. There are a bunch more photos over at Jalopnik.

I have been meaning to get a watch, lately I kept searching for the older gold Casio watches with the calculator on them but then I took the search a little more serious and narrowed it down to 2 brands NOOKA and VOID. First off this pretty much is a aesthetic competition in my opinion since not many people buy watches at this price range are looking for a Rolex plus their both digital. Nooka offers an attractive layout with a good amount of information and with a very clear face. Void attracts me because of the color of the digital light, finish, and that VOID font couldn’t of been picked any better with that style of watch. Which one appeals to you more? I think it would interesting to hear what you have to say because when I look at each watch I think their each made for a different kind of person.

Also, had to pick out some decision making music.

Low Motion Disco – The Low Murderer Is Out At Night (Mark E Edit)

So I’m looking at my external hard drive this morning and i’m thinking man! i’m glad I don’t own one of the ones that look like Dell designed it or one that is all clunky looking or looks like its Mountain Dew sponsored and has a weird glowing green light (my apologizes if yours has a green light). Also, I wonder if I should be looking into a new external hard drive? i’ve heard mix reviews on these Porsche LaCie drives and I have 2 and i’m looking to get one main one that’s really reliable, any suggestions? Now back to daydreaming about the Porsche Tapiro, also did anyone pick one of these up yet or did we agree that is was too expensive?

As you may have realized by now, I love wood grain. The only thing I love more than woodgrain is when there’s stainless steel or brushed aluminum involved. This molded plywood laptop case by Brian Kelly doesn’t appear to be the most functional thing in the world (and it will certainly add some girth to your MBP) but sometimes form must come before function. More details on Brian’s Behance page.

Thought I’d post this nice follow-up to the last PDP11 handbook I posted a while back. Gotta love aquamarine!

The World is a man-made archipelago of 300 islands constructed in the shape of a world map and located 4 kilometres (2.5 miles) off the coast of Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The World is one of several artificial island projects being constructed in Dubai, others being the Palm Islands. Like the other artificial island projects, The World is built primarily using sand dredged from the sea. It was developed by Nakheel Properties and was originally conceived by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the ruler of Dubai.

Each island in the archipelago ranges from about 14,000 m² (150,000 square feet) to 42,000 m² (450,000 square feet). The distance between each island will be an average of 100 metres (328 feet). The entire development covers an area of 9 km in length and 6 km in width, surrounded by an oval breakwater. Roughly 232 km (144 miles) of shoreline has been created. The overall development cost of The World was estimated as 14 billion USD. As for the individual islands, prices range between 15 and 50 million USD. One island is still for sale at a price of 250 million USD.

The project was unveiled on 6 May 2003 by Sheikh Mohammed. Dredging began four months later in September 2003. By January 2008, 60% of the islands had been sold, 20 of which were bought in the first four months of 2007. On 10 January 2008, the final stone on the breakwater was laid, completing initial development. The next phase of the project is to hand over the individual islands to developers.

I just heard people we’re buying up countries that are represented by an island. The picture above is one of the island’s guest houses.

DEC VT100 user guide ca. 1978. That cover is vaguely reminiscent of the Eames Aluminum Group catalog from a while back and they’re even rocking some Avant Garde. The funny part about all these great vintage computer documents is that some engineer probably designed them as an afterthought on his day off.

Update: The above spy shot of what’s believed to be the new Macbook case showed up on Engadget today. While this seems promising, a lot of sites have been reporting that the release will not happen October 14th as previously anticipated. If and when these new Macbooks come it will most likely be November or January. Guess I’ll have to limp along with my DV9000 hackbook a little longer.

I’ve been anxiously awaiting the (supposedly) impending release of the updated Macbook and Macbook Pros. Word has it they’ll be announced and possibly available on October 14th and will feature a case carved from a solid block of aircraft grade aluminum (known as “the brick“) driving down the cost and increasing strength thanks in part to a revolutionary new manufacturing process. This is a pretty interesting theory, but along with all the other theories about what the new Macbooks will look like, it’s just that: a theory. A seemingly unlikely theory at that; last time I checked, solid blocks of aluminum weren’t called “bricks”, they’re called billets and carving them up isn’t cheap (although I wouldn’t put it past Apple to somehow reinvent this process).

Whether or not any of the rumors are true, it’s a safe bet that some form of Macbook updates will be announced next Tuesday. glass trackpad or no. This is pretty exciting because after much deliberation I’ve finally settled on getting a Macbook Pro to handle my laptop duties. I’ve been using a HP DV-9000 running OS X for a couple months now to test the waters and it’s been a very nice experience all around. I still use the PC for all the production work (music, design, etc.) but OS X is just so much better for blogging, quick video edits, and playing live. At this point I honestly wish I could switch over entirely but I still can’t quite go all in for music production. The software I use (Sonar) is PC-only so I’ll have to stick it out at least until I am done with this current album.

Anyways, long story short: If you’re considering a new laptop purchase you might want to hold out until next Tuesday because your choices might get a lot more interesting. Those of you considering upgrading, what new features would it take to convince you?

Above mock-up via Cult of Mac

One of the greatest images I’ve ever seen. You think it couldn’t possibly get any better but then you realize that DEC logo is set in Hellenic Wide (zoom in).

Seems like attention to aesthetic detail is the first thing to go when money is short, here’s hoping for the best. Current Economic crises aside, name the blue DEC hiding back there.

Image via Dreamchimney